{"id":5908,"date":"2021-01-10T10:00:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T02:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?p=5908"},"modified":"2021-04-07T11:06:38","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T03:06:38","slug":"5-questions-withkenneth-lou-co-founder-ceo-of-seedly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/5-questions-withkenneth-lou-co-founder-ceo-of-seedly\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions With\u2026Kenneth Lou, Co-Founder &#038; CEO of Seedly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kenneth-lou\/\">Kenneth Lou<\/a> is no stranger to entrepreneurship (or\nfinance). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Co-founder and CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/seedly.sg\/\">Seedly<\/a>, one of Singapore\u2019s biggest financial communities, Kenneth Lou started Seedly with his Co-founder Chew Tee-Ming while the two were in their final year at university. Kenneth started working at Seedly full-time upon graduation and has been there ever since. Seedly was recently acquired by the CompareAsiaGroup in October 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, Seedly has about 30\nemployees working across various functions, including product development and\nmarketing. It also has a product review page and Q&amp;A platform \u2013 the biggest\nin Singapore, where readers can contribute their reviews or answers to the\nSeedly Community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like most other FinTech companies in Singapore, Seedly is currently adopting a hybrid workplace model, where employees can work in the office or remotely from home. In this edition of <a href=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?s=5+Questions+With\">5 Questions With\u2026<\/a>, we ask Kenneth how it\u2019s like transitioning to a work-from-home arrangement, how his daily routine has changed (or remains the same), and advice he has for aspiring FinTech Entrepreneurs in Singapore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Read Also: <\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/5-questions-withnigel-ng-founder-of-invest-with-nigel\/\"><em><strong>5 Questions With\u2026Nigel Ng, Founder of Invest With Nigel<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"cs-embed cs-embed-responsive\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Working With Kenneth Lou, CEO and Founder of Seedly\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FlrAjdUBBss?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Working With Kenneth Lou, CEO and Founder of Seedly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Timothy\nHo (Tim): As the CEO of Seedly, one of the most popular FinTech companies in\nSingapore, I am sure you keep pretty hectic days. Can you share with us how a\n\u2018regular\u2019 working day is like for you, whether it\u2019s working from home or in the\noffice? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kenneth Lou (Kenneth): <\/strong>Days are pretty hectic and move quickly due to how engaged I usually am at work. To give some context, I wake up at around 730am, and proceed to start my day with a long-black and reading up about the news, either financial markets or world news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To\nsave on buying expensive coffee from cafes, I brew my own coffee using an\nespresso machine and grinder that I purchased 2<sup>nd<\/sup> hand on Carousell\nmany years ago, which turned out to be a very prudent decision. With that\nmorning caffeine kick, I plan out my day using my iPad based on the tasks I\nwould need to accomplish for the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning\nfrom Tim Ferris\u2019s 4-hour workweek, there is this concept around organising\ntasks into priority from A to D. And from there, giving a score to them from 1\nto 4. For example, A1 would be the most priority, B1 would be after lunch and\nD1, would likely be delegated away or to be done during my own admin time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I recently added in my personal life into these lists as well, with my runs and workouts to accomplish by the end of the day due to my belief in work-life integration. Usually, I do such activities in the evenings when I get home around 8 or 9 pm, with a 1-hour break after dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On\na positive note, I\u2019ve started doing Intermittent fasting for almost a year now\nand it has become a pretty good habit because it saves me time and money on the\n16:8 routine, with 16 hours fast and 8 hours feeding window. In addition to\nthat, I\u2019ve been on this calisthenics routine for my workouts which include\nmainly bodyweight exercises and HIIT which has been helping me shed some 9kg in\na year. As most working adults might agree, sitting down in front of the\ncomputer with a sedentary lifestyle can really be unhealthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the circuit breaker from April 2020 to June 2020, our whole team was working remotely. Being someone who thrives on social interaction, it was a challenging period because you cannot create that same energy via zoom calls or hangouts. We do our best, but I would say it was a pretty tough time, even though I think most of our team members also found ways to cope. As of August 2020, we started the A\/B split team setup as we started going back to the office, and it was a breath of fresh air because only half the team came in, and it was reminiscent of the early days when the team was much smaller, and we\u2019ve been on this arrangement ever since till now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tim: Seedly has done remarkably well\nsince it started in 2016. Besides your Seedly app, you guys have also ventured\ninto content, community building, and of course, your flagship annual Seedly\nPersonal Finance Festival. With so much work to be done, how do you manage the\nteam especially during this period where people are working from home? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kenneth:<\/strong> Currently, we have a split team arrangement where only half of our team comes into the office and it\u2019s not easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having a co-founder definitely helps! Tee-Ming is looking after all product and engineering sides at Seedly. Next, having leaders who are willing to learn and be responsible for our team helps. We are doing our best to support them to do their jobs in the areas of marketing, product, engineering, partnerships and Business Development. This, in turn, flows across the whole team with a strong work ethic and culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, having investors who believe in what we are doing is an additional kicker to our efforts. Joining the CompareAsiaGroup allows us access to resources that we otherwise would not have had previously. This means we can hire better and take care of our current team members. But also, critically, we have more capital to be deployed in areas that we feel can really move the needle for our community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We aim for Seedly to become a self-sustaining and most importantly, a strongly bonded community with a clear mission that can outlive any of us. That would be really cool and something that we aspire to as a team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tim: You worked on Seedly full-time\nright after graduation. This couldn\u2019t have been an easy financial decision. What\nare 3 financial tips that you will share with aspiring entrepreneurs in\nSingapore who are afraid of venturing into entrepreneurship because of\nfinancial security? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kenneth:<\/strong> There are always two sides to the coin! When you are young, it\u2019s easier to consider building a startup due to the days where you can survive on as little as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tip 1<\/strong> would be to stay humble and to learn and live\nlike a student. Don\u2019t go for that Starbucks, staycation or branded shoes if you\ndon\u2019t have the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tip 2<\/strong> would be to not be afraid to ask for help.\nFrom your school, from investors, from advisors. As Pitbull says: \u201cAsk for\nmoney, get advice. Ask for advice, get money Twice!\u201d However, the only caveat\nto this is to get ready to stare rejection down in the face and to look stupid\n&#8211; because most of the people you speak to will end up in dead ends. You just\nhave to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tip 3<\/strong> would be to be a cockroach. Did you know that these insects have been around since the stone age? The longer you stay in the game and hang around, the more you learn and the more you evolve and adapt. This applies in all aspects of life, whether it comes to startups, businesses or investing. (and even fitness routines, for me recently). Just show up, go to the gym even though you don\u2019t feel like it. You would start to realize that you will keep getting stronger and more ready for whatever challenges lie ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tim: Who are 2 individuals or\nbusinesses that have inspired you (or continue to inspire you) in your\nentrepreneurship journey? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kenneth:<\/strong> This would sound clich\u00e9 but <strong>Elon Musk<\/strong> and <strong>Mr. Phillip Yeo<\/strong>. And it\u2019s been pretty consistent ever since I started my entrepreneurship journey around 6 to 7 years ago when I was exposed to the world of tech and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Elon Musk<\/strong> because he\u2019s doing things which no other humans or entrepreneurs would even dare imagine by pushing the boundaries of mankind and to set up a colony on Mars by 2050. That definitely sounds like a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) to inspire many others to join this endeavor. Having a strong mission, and not caring about what other people think if you know that is the right thing to do. He\u2019s been through multiple rockets exploding, failed electric cars. but he\u2019s always improving and coming out on the other side with even more passion and exuberance for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mr. Phillip Yeo<\/strong>. Not everyone in our generation knows him, but he was a real operator and has had made a huge difference to Singapore\u2019s growth story and economy. As chairman of EDB for many years, I will always remember his quote to say \u201cIt\u2019s always easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission, if you know that this is the right thing to do\u201d the context really applies to the civil service where there is traditionally much red tape to cut through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I highly recommend a book on his life called \u2013 <strong>Neither Civil nor Servant<\/strong>. I\u2019ve been extremely fortunate to be part of the Philip Yeo initiative program where they invest in others who are also carrying this MAD COW spirit to Make a Difference and Change Our World! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d dare say that without this man\u2019s willingness to change things and aggressively \u2018market\u2019 Singapore to other MNCs to set up their regional or global HQs here in Singapore, we would not have had seen the economic boom in the 80s and 90s. His current hope is that many Singaporeans do not forget this spirit and continue building on the work that our past generations have done as a strong foundation, not to give up so easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tim: 1 advice you will share with\naspiring FinTech entrepreneurs in Singapore looking to build the next Seedly? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kenneth:<\/strong> Just do it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Give it a go, try it out, and experience the pain. Honestly, this journey is not easy. If you are in it for the money, you are in the wrong business, go and be an investment banker or some other lucrative industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you want to have an\nopportunity to change something in the space you are in or solve a problem that\nyou feel strongly about, then just do it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>We all need a bit of luck along the way. But as they say, the harder you work, the luckier you get! <\/p><cite>Kenneth Lou<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Read Also: <\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/5-questions-withregine-sum-founder-and-creative-director-of-nasty-cookie\/\"><em><strong>5 Questions With\u2026Regine Sum, Founder And Creative Director Of Nasty Cookie<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When we first met Kenneth 5 years ago, he (and his co-founders) were still university studies. Today, he runs Seedly &#8211; one of Singapore&#8217;s biggest financial communities. \n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[729,94],"tags":[462,687,685,686],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Questions With\u2026Kenneth Lou, Co-Founder &amp; CEO of Seedly | DollarsAndSense Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kenneth Lou, the Co-founder and CEO of Seedly, shares with us how a \u2018regular\u2019 day in his life looks like and as a fintech entrepreneur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/5-questions-withkenneth-lou-co-founder-ceo-of-seedly\/\" \/>\n<meta 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